13
“I’m considering adopting a dog,” Kate said to Clara as she packed. “Or cat. Whichever.”
“Before or after you move out of my house?”
“After, obviously. Newfoundland, then a place to live, then an animal companion.”
“Have any leads? What about the gay house?”
“The what?”
“That house on Mountain View with the stained-glass rainbow window. It’s for sale.”
“For half a million dollars. Wanna buy it for me?”
“I’ll buy you a one-dollar lottery ticket.”
Kate chuckled. “Thanks for letting me squat here all this time. Remind me to send Felicity a big gift basket or something.”
“You don’t need to keep thanking us. Fel will miss having someone around to do the vacuuming and lawn mowing. So, you ready? Get your ahem waxed? Stock up on condoms?”
“What are you talking about? And when have I ever waxed anything?”
“Gotta get outta your dumpee mindset and prepare to boink Ben.”
“Ben does not want to boink me.”
“You cannot know that for a fact.”
“The absence of negative proof is not the presence of positive proof.”
“Interested until proven otherwise.”
“You do realize that Ben lives in Norway. I can’t have any endeavors regarding him, even if he’s single. I can’t do that to myself. It would hurt too much, a long-distance relationship.”
“I’m not saying fall in love with the guy. But you’ve had a crush on him for forever. If he’s single, get it out of your system. If you know what I’m talkin’ about. Let that fire burn bright and hot and out by the end of the summer. Then come home and move on with your life. Adopt a dog. They love their humans no matter what.”
Except the ones that run away, Kate thought. “Actually, I’ve already gotten things out of my system.”
“With Ben?”
“What? No. With…someone.”
“When did you go out on dates? How did I miss this?”
Kate pressed her lips together. “Over my birthday.”
Clara’s brows shot up. “While Fel and I were away? I knew you were up to something.”
Kate grinned as she rolled her Aerosmith t-shirt and placed it in her large duffel.
“So, great!” Clara clapped her hands. “Rebound out of the way. You can fully concentrate on gettin’ dirty. On your hands n’ knees.”
“Clar…”
“Playin’ with big bones.”
Kate walked away as Clara cackled.